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Iron Man (2012) (Collected Editions)
Iron Man, Vol. 3: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark, Book 2
Now it can be told: The shocking secret origin of Tony Stark continues! And it began with his birth! As the manipulative alien power's ulterior motive is laid bare, an even more massive surprise awaits at a deserted battlefield from the beginning of time!
Collecting: Iron Man 12-17
Collecting: Iron Man 12-17
136 pages, Hardcover
First published August 7, 2013
8 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
About the author
Kieron Gillen
1,474 books1,911 followersKieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
March 4, 2022
This was really good!
Tony is in space and well he meets the rigellian recorder after being captured and we see here where he learns of the machine's motive about him wanting Tony to pilot the Godkiller armor and the deal he made with Tony's father and its epic and I love the slow reveal here and then enter Death's head, Tony running from the recorder but whena planet is at stake what will Tony do and then what new revelations will happen that will change Tony's world! Its epic and I love the twists and turns here!
Its really well done and I love it the way it ends and the final battle and Tony returning to Earth and well what he sees there and the special person that he meets that ends this story arc and which changes the world of the Armored Avenger forever. Its really well done and I know not everyone will like the retcon but its fun and gives a status quo unlike anything else.
Tony is in space and well he meets the rigellian recorder after being captured and we see here where he learns of the machine's motive about him wanting Tony to pilot the Godkiller armor and the deal he made with Tony's father and its epic and I love the slow reveal here and then enter Death's head, Tony running from the recorder but whena planet is at stake what will Tony do and then what new revelations will happen that will change Tony's world! Its epic and I love the twists and turns here!
Its really well done and I love it the way it ends and the final battle and Tony returning to Earth and well what he sees there and the special person that he meets that ends this story arc and which changes the world of the Armored Avenger forever. Its really well done and I know not everyone will like the retcon but its fun and gives a status quo unlike anything else.
May 14, 2014
Kieron Gillen’s Iron Man run continues to be an absolute train-wreck with the only positive being Greg Land’s absence from this book!
It opens with the finale of Howard Stark’s Ocean’s 11-esque heist of an alien-run casino in Vegas before jumping back to the present where Tony and 451’s great space adventure continues with still more genocide! And then there’s the big reveal of Tony’s secret origin which is one of the worst I’ve read in any Marvel book in a long time.
Gillen takes the central premise of this book from Pacific Rim by making 451’s plan revolve around Tony becoming the pilot of a 5-mile tall suit of Jaegar-esque armour called the Godkiller. The reason? So that Tony can use the armour to stop needless death across the cosmos as he’s been engineered from birth to be some kind of intergalactic saviour. But in order to convince Tony to bond with the armour, 451 is more than happy to kill off an entire planet full of life so… that makes no sense!
Most of the book is set in the Godkiller armour as Tony and 451 drearily play cat and mouse, and for that alone this book’s a failure because it’s so boring. “Get him!”, “Ahhhh, runaway, runaway!”, “Grr, he escaped! Get him!”, “Nyah-nyah, can’t catch me, I’ve got flying armour!” x 3 chapters. But the secret origin part is where Gillen really drops the ball.
Gillen’s Iron Man has been one of the worst Marvel NOW! runs – it’s been consistently sub-par since the start and hasn’t shown any improvement over three books. I’ll probably read Iron Man again one day, but not with this writer in the driving seat.
Iron Man, Wolverine – which Marvel character’s origin can Gillen screw with next?
It opens with the finale of Howard Stark’s Ocean’s 11-esque heist of an alien-run casino in Vegas before jumping back to the present where Tony and 451’s great space adventure continues with still more genocide! And then there’s the big reveal of Tony’s secret origin which is one of the worst I’ve read in any Marvel book in a long time.
Gillen takes the central premise of this book from Pacific Rim by making 451’s plan revolve around Tony becoming the pilot of a 5-mile tall suit of Jaegar-esque armour called the Godkiller. The reason? So that Tony can use the armour to stop needless death across the cosmos as he’s been engineered from birth to be some kind of intergalactic saviour. But in order to convince Tony to bond with the armour, 451 is more than happy to kill off an entire planet full of life so… that makes no sense!
Most of the book is set in the Godkiller armour as Tony and 451 drearily play cat and mouse, and for that alone this book’s a failure because it’s so boring. “Get him!”, “Ahhhh, runaway, runaway!”, “Grr, he escaped! Get him!”, “Nyah-nyah, can’t catch me, I’ve got flying armour!” x 3 chapters. But the secret origin part is where Gillen really drops the ball.
Gillen’s Iron Man has been one of the worst Marvel NOW! runs – it’s been consistently sub-par since the start and hasn’t shown any improvement over three books. I’ll probably read Iron Man again one day, but not with this writer in the driving seat.
Iron Man, Wolverine – which Marvel character’s origin can Gillen screw with next?
May 17, 2018
I really like what Gillen is doing with Iron Man in this series.
August 28, 2014
Marvel has got me hooked. After years of eschewing superheroes, I'm now reading everything the library gets. I've no judgement at all, I'm loving these, and lying on the sofa trading them off with the daughter. We're planning to visit the state comic con this fall.
Library copy.
Library copy.
December 18, 2019
I liked this and I didn't like it....I found moments with the 451 robot to be irritating, and especially the ending was frustrating.
February 21, 2021
A continuation of my Iron Man revisit. Volume 3: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark - Book2. Review contains spoilers. It was hard for me to criticise this without going into the actual plot.
This volume concludes the Secret Origin storyline. Essentially retconning Stark’s origin, but not the actual Iron Man origin story. This relates to his parents of Howard and Maria. Tony is adopted. Even though he looks a lot like Howard Stark... I will say I was not a fan of this plot twist. The flashbacks with Howard just didn’t sit well with me, like the last volume. Howard dealing with aliens called the Greys in Las Vegas.
The ending plot twist seemed too convenient too. The actual Stark heir is revealed as Arno Stark, who has been hidden away in a Stark funded facility. Forced to live within an Iron Lung. It just seemed a bit hard to believe that this information would have been kept so secret.
As well as that origin plot, we also have the resolution to the robot 451. He wanted Stark to pilot a Celestial style armour called the Godkiller. Stark refuses. A planet gets destroyed Death Star style. There is also the odd cat and mouse/hide and seek element of 451 hunting Tony down in the massive Godkiller armour.
The highlight for me was an action sequence involving Tony piloting multiple armours at once to combat 451. A scene reminiscent of one from the Iron Man 3 film.
The artwork isn’t bad, the action and armour sequences being a highlight. The overall cover art of the Iron family isn’t as bad as the Iron Baby cover from the previous volume.
Iron Man is one of my all time favourite Marvel characters. I can be quite forgiving with some of the stories, but unfortunately for me I find it hard to recommend this run so far. Change can be good in comic stories, but I’m not sure what is achieved with this.
This volume concludes the Secret Origin storyline. Essentially retconning Stark’s origin, but not the actual Iron Man origin story. This relates to his parents of Howard and Maria. Tony is adopted. Even though he looks a lot like Howard Stark... I will say I was not a fan of this plot twist. The flashbacks with Howard just didn’t sit well with me, like the last volume. Howard dealing with aliens called the Greys in Las Vegas.
The ending plot twist seemed too convenient too. The actual Stark heir is revealed as Arno Stark, who has been hidden away in a Stark funded facility. Forced to live within an Iron Lung. It just seemed a bit hard to believe that this information would have been kept so secret.
As well as that origin plot, we also have the resolution to the robot 451. He wanted Stark to pilot a Celestial style armour called the Godkiller. Stark refuses. A planet gets destroyed Death Star style. There is also the odd cat and mouse/hide and seek element of 451 hunting Tony down in the massive Godkiller armour.
The highlight for me was an action sequence involving Tony piloting multiple armours at once to combat 451. A scene reminiscent of one from the Iron Man 3 film.
The artwork isn’t bad, the action and armour sequences being a highlight. The overall cover art of the Iron family isn’t as bad as the Iron Baby cover from the previous volume.
Iron Man is one of my all time favourite Marvel characters. I can be quite forgiving with some of the stories, but unfortunately for me I find it hard to recommend this run so far. Change can be good in comic stories, but I’m not sure what is achieved with this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2015
OK, so this is part 2 of Tony Stark, this is your life, by Alien Recorder 451.
We get some more flashback to Howard Stark and his Howlin Commandos taking out the Alien mafia that run Las Vegas...yup. (Including Thunderbolt Ross and Dum Dum Dugan).
Then we see how Tony came to be born and whatnot.
Forward to the present, and 451 finally reveals what he wants Tony for: a gigantic suit of Armour, called the Godkiller...nearly 5 miles tall; of course, Tony has the alien tech in him from the past to pilot this ship and be ready to defend the Earth against the return of the Celestials.
If 451 is this supreme intelligent robot with millenia of knowledge from all the sectors of the Galaxy, why is it that only Tony Stark can unlock it? Especially if 451 "programmed" Tony while he was a fetus?
Cue the return of Death's Head, the alien robotic Bounty Hunter...he found out that the intergalactic bounty on 451's head was quite a large sum of currency...this allows Tony to hide in the Godkiller, until of course, 451 defeats Death's Head, then makes him find Tony...who Death's Head manages to help escape again when he realizes he's dead.
451 decides to target the Godkiller at an inhabited planet, to see if Tony will try to meld with the machine...but if 451 can control the Godkiller to that level, does he really even need Tony? Also, why doesn't he just save himself the time, and target Earth? (he does target Earth, but only after Godkiller blows up another planet).
Tony runs to his armory and gets all his armours for a showdown with 451, then manages to disable 451's hacking abilities...funny how 451 was all powerful, yet all of a sudden a few things Tony thinks and boom, he's defeated the robot. If 451 implanted Tony with all this shit, then how on Earth did he not put a failsafe control or something in him? Not very smart, all powerful robot...
Earth is saved once 451 discovers Tony has no ability to interface with the Godkiller...then sends the robot to self destruct, and Tony needs to escape...
blah blah blah, GotG random appearance to sell some extra units...back to Earth, blah blah blah...wait a second...something's wrong!
And cue "shocker" reveal:
The end salvaged the rest of the book, and set up tons of possibilities...
However, they seemed to decide that 451 was too powerful after book 1, so then completely defeated him in this one...I guess this explains how they were going to get out of saying that Tony Stark was an alien in the continuity of the Marvel Universe...
I liked Tony having to think, but I didn't like everything going down to a robot fight...kinda boring.
Hit or miss, you only really need to read the last book to know what's important development in this Iron Man title.
We get some more flashback to Howard Stark and his Howlin Commandos taking out the Alien mafia that run Las Vegas...yup. (Including Thunderbolt Ross and Dum Dum Dugan).
Then we see how Tony came to be born and whatnot.
Forward to the present, and 451 finally reveals what he wants Tony for: a gigantic suit of Armour, called the Godkiller...nearly 5 miles tall; of course, Tony has the alien tech in him from the past to pilot this ship and be ready to defend the Earth against the return of the Celestials.
If 451 is this supreme intelligent robot with millenia of knowledge from all the sectors of the Galaxy, why is it that only Tony Stark can unlock it? Especially if 451 "programmed" Tony while he was a fetus?
Cue the return of Death's Head, the alien robotic Bounty Hunter...he found out that the intergalactic bounty on 451's head was quite a large sum of currency...this allows Tony to hide in the Godkiller, until of course, 451 defeats Death's Head, then makes him find Tony...who Death's Head manages to help escape again when he realizes he's dead.
451 decides to target the Godkiller at an inhabited planet, to see if Tony will try to meld with the machine...but if 451 can control the Godkiller to that level, does he really even need Tony? Also, why doesn't he just save himself the time, and target Earth? (he does target Earth, but only after Godkiller blows up another planet).
Tony runs to his armory and gets all his armours for a showdown with 451, then manages to disable 451's hacking abilities...funny how 451 was all powerful, yet all of a sudden a few things Tony thinks and boom, he's defeated the robot. If 451 implanted Tony with all this shit, then how on Earth did he not put a failsafe control or something in him? Not very smart, all powerful robot...
Earth is saved once 451 discovers Tony has no ability to interface with the Godkiller...then sends the robot to self destruct, and Tony needs to escape...
blah blah blah, GotG random appearance to sell some extra units...back to Earth, blah blah blah...wait a second...something's wrong!
And cue "shocker" reveal:
The end salvaged the rest of the book, and set up tons of possibilities...
However, they seemed to decide that 451 was too powerful after book 1, so then completely defeated him in this one...I guess this explains how they were going to get out of saying that Tony Stark was an alien in the continuity of the Marvel Universe...
I liked Tony having to think, but I didn't like everything going down to a robot fight...kinda boring.
Hit or miss, you only really need to read the last book to know what's important development in this Iron Man title.
February 28, 2017
The ending is what makes it all worth it. I have to admit I did not see that coming.
May 18, 2020
A strong conclusion to the Secret Origin of Tony Stark storyline, this one contains a major twist to Tony's origin.
June 4, 2018
Kirjutan blogis https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...
March 17, 2025
An even more interesting way to position Tony Stark in his origin than I thought. Almost makes me wish the MCU didn't kill him off so we could see it on the screen.
October 24, 2013
Review is for monthly issues 12-17 and not the graphic novel itself, which has yet to be released at the time of this post. Major spoilers have been hidden. Minor ones may still appear.
I really, honestly don’t know why I still bother with Gillen’s Iron Man. I love the other works I’ve read that he’s done for Marvel, specifically Journey into Mystery, his brief run on Thor and the current ongoing Young Avengers. But, for some reason, his take on Tony Stark comes off as more than a little off-kilter.
So far in the 17 issues of the Marvel Now series, we’ve seen (SPOILERS for those who haven’t read through Volume 2 yet):
*Tony building an AI for his suits named P.E.P.P.E.R., which will never not reek of creep-factor
*Tony having hot make-out sessions with alien babes
*Tony fighting in outer-space gladiatorial-style death matches
*Alien mafia in Rat Pack-era Vegas
*Tony being genetically enhanced and modified by the alien robot 451 while still in the womb, to turn him into a “technological messiah.”
In this collection, we finally find out what 451’s plans for Tony were, and exactly how far he’s willing to go to achieve those goals. Turns out, all the time Tony’s spent in his suits was just practice for a much, much larger project.
The good news is, this collection finally brings Tony back to earth, literally, but he barely has a time to grab a slice of New York pizza before receiving an urgent message from the real Pepper in Los Angeles. This will eventually lead Tony to the final pieces of the puzzle regarding his own origin, and the lengths both of his parents went to in order to protect him…and the real “secret origin” of Tony Stark. I will admit I did not see the final twist coming. I don’t know if that’s because I’m still new to Marvel Comics as a whole, or because it was a genuine twist. Either way, things have changed for Tony.
Gillen’s author’s note at the end of Issue 17 goes a long way towards explaining his thought process with these issues of Iron Man, and why he made the choices he did, and why thing may be slightly less crazy for Tony in upcoming issues (*fingers crossed*). Maybe now that the big reveals are out of the way, some level of normalcy will return.
When you’re dealing with a character as dynamic as Tony Stark, I certainly don’t expect a serious drama-fest all the time. Or even most of the time. But there is a level of utter improbability that has plagued Gillen’s run on Iron Man so far. For me, it’s been that proverbial train wreck that you want to look away from and can’t. It’s bad reality TV. You’re flipping channels and see something so crazy that you have to stop and watch for a few minutes. Until the next commercial break. But then it leaves you with a cliffhanger and you find out the network is running a marathon and you want to change the channel but you just can’t, because you might miss something even wackier than what you’ve just seen. That’s Iron Man for me.
I really, honestly don’t know why I still bother with Gillen’s Iron Man. I love the other works I’ve read that he’s done for Marvel, specifically Journey into Mystery, his brief run on Thor and the current ongoing Young Avengers. But, for some reason, his take on Tony Stark comes off as more than a little off-kilter.
So far in the 17 issues of the Marvel Now series, we’ve seen (SPOILERS for those who haven’t read through Volume 2 yet):
*Tony building an AI for his suits named P.E.P.P.E.R., which will never not reek of creep-factor
*Tony having hot make-out sessions with alien babes
*Tony fighting in outer-space gladiatorial-style death matches
*Alien mafia in Rat Pack-era Vegas
*Tony being genetically enhanced and modified by the alien robot 451 while still in the womb, to turn him into a “technological messiah.”
In this collection, we finally find out what 451’s plans for Tony were, and exactly how far he’s willing to go to achieve those goals. Turns out, all the time Tony’s spent in his suits was just practice for a much, much larger project.
The good news is, this collection finally brings Tony back to earth, literally, but he barely has a time to grab a slice of New York pizza before receiving an urgent message from the real Pepper in Los Angeles. This will eventually lead Tony to the final pieces of the puzzle regarding his own origin, and the lengths both of his parents went to in order to protect him…and the real “secret origin” of Tony Stark. I will admit I did not see the final twist coming. I don’t know if that’s because I’m still new to Marvel Comics as a whole, or because it was a genuine twist. Either way, things have changed for Tony.
Gillen’s author’s note at the end of Issue 17 goes a long way towards explaining his thought process with these issues of Iron Man, and why he made the choices he did, and why thing may be slightly less crazy for Tony in upcoming issues (*fingers crossed*). Maybe now that the big reveals are out of the way, some level of normalcy will return.
When you’re dealing with a character as dynamic as Tony Stark, I certainly don’t expect a serious drama-fest all the time. Or even most of the time. But there is a level of utter improbability that has plagued Gillen’s run on Iron Man so far. For me, it’s been that proverbial train wreck that you want to look away from and can’t. It’s bad reality TV. You’re flipping channels and see something so crazy that you have to stop and watch for a few minutes. Until the next commercial break. But then it leaves you with a cliffhanger and you find out the network is running a marathon and you want to change the channel but you just can’t, because you might miss something even wackier than what you’ve just seen. That’s Iron Man for me.
September 9, 2016
The Secret Origin of Tony Stark arc wraps up quite nicely here. The pace is fast, the stakes and dilemmas are high and there is a pretty cool surprise twist ending. My only quibble is the with the increased tension of this volume, the humor mostly takes a walk. That's okay though as overall I really enjoyed this storyline.
September 10, 2019
Księga pierwsza sekretnej genezy Tony'ego Starka nie powala, więc z pewnym dystansem podszedłem do jej kontynuacji, która wydała mi się zbędna. W trakcie lektury moje nastawienie jednak zaczęło się zmieniać. Przede wszystkim dlatego, że opowiadana historia wreszcie ma odczuwalną stawkę. A w pewnym momencie będzie nią nawet Ziemia. Dużym plusem jest też fakt, że po zakończeniu całej historii nie wracamy do tego samego statusu quo, jak na początku. Coś się zmieni. Na stałe.
Tony nie ma lekko. Przeżył szok gdy 451, przebiegły robot, realizujący swój plan, pomógł w narodzinach młodego Starka, poprzez wprowadzenie do płodu kilku modyfikacji, aby ten był inteligentniejszych (Ba, maszyna wzorowała się nawet na Aleksandrze Wielkim). Aby mógł spełnić pokładane w nim nadzieje blaszaka, Tony staje się niejako zakładnikiem i ma pewną narzuconą rolę do wykonania. Mianowicie Stark ma zostać pilotem pewnej potężnej jednostki, zbudowanej jeszcze za czasów konfliktów z Celestianami. Tak, tymi gigantycznymi, kosmicznymi bytami.
Okazuje się, że było ich kiedyś całe multum, dosłownie tyle ile gwiazd, ale potężna broń wykosiła większość boskich istot. Teraz ma być oddana na potrzeby obrony Ziemi, która według robota ma największy potencjał jaki widział. To już nie będzie świat Avengers, a wszechświat... Robot zatem ma wyniosłe pobudki, bo chce zabezpieczyć ludzkość przed wszelakim zagrożeniem, ale z drugiej strony nie ma skrupułów, aby mieszkańców Ziemi narazić na niebezpieczeństwo, czy lekko uszkodzić samego Tony'ego. Dobrymi chęciami piekło jest wybrukowane? Antagonista spisuje się tu całkiem nieźle, bo nie można go określić w jednym zdaniu.
Stark wraca na Ziemię, ciesząc się ze spotkania z przyjaciółmi, ale wcześniejsze wydarzenia nie są jeszcze do końca wyjaśnione, więc Tony opuszcza własne przyjęcie powitalne i stara się rozwiązać pewne nieścisłości. W tomie mamy też kilka przebitek na przeszłość rodziców Starka. W tym kontynuację zajawki rodem z Ocean's 11. Mi się tutaj nawet podobała, choć to końcowa retrospekcja ujawnia coś szczególnego. Robot namieszał bardziej w genach dziecka Starków niż na początku myśleliśmy.
Zakończenie zaskoczyło mnie pozytywnie, bo odwraca całkowicie sens dwóch przeczytanych tomów i stawia Tony'ego, jak i jego rodziców w całkowicie innym świetle. Nie spodziewałem się tak mocnego akcentu na sam koniec. Zwłaszcza po dwóch poprzednich tomach.
Wizualnie plansze wydawały mi się większe. Paradoksalnie mniej tekstu wpłynęło tu na lepszy odbiór całości. Niektóre rysunki potrafią zachwycić, co się nie zdarzało w poprzednikach. Trzeci tom to krok w dobrą stronę. Liczę na więcej. No i ta relacja P.E.P.P.E.R a Tony. Miodzio. No i reakcja na zaręczyny tej prawdziwej Potts, też bezcenna.
Tony nie ma lekko. Przeżył szok gdy 451, przebiegły robot, realizujący swój plan, pomógł w narodzinach młodego Starka, poprzez wprowadzenie do płodu kilku modyfikacji, aby ten był inteligentniejszych (Ba, maszyna wzorowała się nawet na Aleksandrze Wielkim). Aby mógł spełnić pokładane w nim nadzieje blaszaka, Tony staje się niejako zakładnikiem i ma pewną narzuconą rolę do wykonania. Mianowicie Stark ma zostać pilotem pewnej potężnej jednostki, zbudowanej jeszcze za czasów konfliktów z Celestianami. Tak, tymi gigantycznymi, kosmicznymi bytami.
Okazuje się, że było ich kiedyś całe multum, dosłownie tyle ile gwiazd, ale potężna broń wykosiła większość boskich istot. Teraz ma być oddana na potrzeby obrony Ziemi, która według robota ma największy potencjał jaki widział. To już nie będzie świat Avengers, a wszechświat... Robot zatem ma wyniosłe pobudki, bo chce zabezpieczyć ludzkość przed wszelakim zagrożeniem, ale z drugiej strony nie ma skrupułów, aby mieszkańców Ziemi narazić na niebezpieczeństwo, czy lekko uszkodzić samego Tony'ego. Dobrymi chęciami piekło jest wybrukowane? Antagonista spisuje się tu całkiem nieźle, bo nie można go określić w jednym zdaniu.
Stark wraca na Ziemię, ciesząc się ze spotkania z przyjaciółmi, ale wcześniejsze wydarzenia nie są jeszcze do końca wyjaśnione, więc Tony opuszcza własne przyjęcie powitalne i stara się rozwiązać pewne nieścisłości. W tomie mamy też kilka przebitek na przeszłość rodziców Starka. W tym kontynuację zajawki rodem z Ocean's 11. Mi się tutaj nawet podobała, choć to końcowa retrospekcja ujawnia coś szczególnego. Robot namieszał bardziej w genach dziecka Starków niż na początku myśleliśmy.
Zakończenie zaskoczyło mnie pozytywnie, bo odwraca całkowicie sens dwóch przeczytanych tomów i stawia Tony'ego, jak i jego rodziców w całkowicie innym świetle. Nie spodziewałem się tak mocnego akcentu na sam koniec. Zwłaszcza po dwóch poprzednich tomach.
Wizualnie plansze wydawały mi się większe. Paradoksalnie mniej tekstu wpłynęło tu na lepszy odbiór całości. Niektóre rysunki potrafią zachwycić, co się nie zdarzało w poprzednikach. Trzeci tom to krok w dobrą stronę. Liczę na więcej. No i ta relacja P.E.P.P.E.R a Tony. Miodzio. No i reakcja na zaręczyny tej prawdziwej Potts, też bezcenna.
November 30, 2017
Well.... it went where I was expecting/had vaguely heard of years ago. Most of this book was pretty darn good, with fun space shenanigans. The vilainous robot was pretty interesting, and Death's Head was quite funny. The art was decent, only two issues done by Greg Land, and they had virtually no women in them so they looked fine. I was genuinely into the central mystery of Tony's parents and the robot etc.... but when it hit with the final revelation I was completely taken out of the story. I had assumed that the baby the robot had modified wouldn't turn out to have been Tony himself, there was enough evidence for that all along. But apparently this meant 1. Tony was then adopted and 2. their "real" son was hidden. Except..... he wasn't hidden at all? He was just chilling in a hospital that bore Maria Stark's name, and Tony knew exactly who he was? Whomst? Is this a previously mentioned character or did he literally come out of nowhere? Tony just walks in one day and this guy's all "yeah, I've just been hanging out here for 30 something years, guess you finally found out". It's so weird and lazy. The suspension of disbelief required, the entire Lassa-faire-ness of it all was just too much for me. And to top it all off.... Tony being adopted is just not a very good twist. It casts a new weird shadow on so much of his history and his relationship with his parents.... granted I mostly know the Howard/Tony dynamic from the MCU. But as someone invested in that version of the story, this just felt stupid, sacrilegious, and unbelievable all at once.
Gillen's afterword was pretty interesting.... he said that he had the idea of Tony being modified as a baby but he knew that Marvel wouldn't let him do that, it went against the core of the character as a self-made man. But that if he could imply that and then feint away from it it would be very interesting. And yeah.... it could've been. Tony's self doubt at the idea did make for interesting moments. But the "reveal" was not well thought out. I've got two more books to go, and I have to say, I'm dying to find out if this shit has been retconned away yet, or just quietly ignored, or what.
Gillen's afterword was pretty interesting.... he said that he had the idea of Tony being modified as a baby but he knew that Marvel wouldn't let him do that, it went against the core of the character as a self-made man. But that if he could imply that and then feint away from it it would be very interesting. And yeah.... it could've been. Tony's self doubt at the idea did make for interesting moments. But the "reveal" was not well thought out. I've got two more books to go, and I have to say, I'm dying to find out if this shit has been retconned away yet, or just quietly ignored, or what.
May 19, 2021
I'm conflicted. I enjoyed the sections with 451 and Death's Head, but the actual secret origin of Tony Stark part didn't do it for me. I found the premise unbelievable.
To me, it felt like Gillen came up with an idea he thought was great, and he just hoped readers would ignore the plot holes so it worked. A decent chunk of the story was enjoyable to me, and the art was great, but I can't suspend my disbelief enough in regards to the origin story to rate this installment higher than 3 stars.
To me, it felt like Gillen came up with an idea he thought was great, and he just hoped readers would ignore the plot holes so it worked. A decent chunk of the story was enjoyable to me, and the art was great, but I can't suspend my disbelief enough in regards to the origin story to rate this installment higher than 3 stars.
August 8, 2025
Sorry but this was just so bad. The story was boring, the art sub par and the story didn’t make sense. The first one was bad enough where they’re claiming Tony is only super smart and a tech genius because he was made that way- but then at the end the irritable gotcha with him being adopted? Doesn’t even make sense. So I’m to believe Howard and Maria were really loving parents? That all of Tony’s similarities and looks with Howard are just coincidence? Also you’re telling me this robot put a bunch of tech into a baby in utero but then couldn’t tell that tech wasn’t in the person he thought it was in??
451’s reasoning makes no sense either. I must get Tony to pilot the god killer to save life but also totally and 100% ok with killing millions of lives to justify the end? That’s his best plan make everyone so afraid they won’t fight anymore? When has that worked? It was lazy writing with a hope of some surprising twists- but the twists felt flat and unbelievable.
451’s reasoning makes no sense either. I must get Tony to pilot the god killer to save life but also totally and 100% ok with killing millions of lives to justify the end? That’s his best plan make everyone so afraid they won’t fight anymore? When has that worked? It was lazy writing with a hope of some surprising twists- but the twists felt flat and unbelievable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2018
So after the last volume, I was concerned about the information that was revealed would ultimately hinder the history the character and undercut the achievements he has made throughout his career. To be honest I was doubting if Gillen would be able to resolve it in a way that would feel natural and not undermine the Tony Stark character in general.
Im glad to say that Gillen was able to stick the landing to this one successfully.
Now the way he does it is a bit of a stretch, but i appreciate the fact that Gillen is a talented enough writer to pull off something like this semi gracefully.
The art swtiches between different artist, including Land. But, since most of the issues are in space with Iron Man and the android, the Land art didnt distract too much.
A worthy read, and one with an ending that may prove to be too divisive. If youre a fan of Iron Man, read this to see which side of the fence youre on.
Im glad to say that Gillen was able to stick the landing to this one successfully.
Now the way he does it is a bit of a stretch, but i appreciate the fact that Gillen is a talented enough writer to pull off something like this semi gracefully.
The art swtiches between different artist, including Land. But, since most of the issues are in space with Iron Man and the android, the Land art didnt distract too much.
A worthy read, and one with an ending that may prove to be too divisive. If youre a fan of Iron Man, read this to see which side of the fence youre on.
March 30, 2023
So the actual Secret Origin...wasn't too bad, actually. What had been set up in the previous volume was a little jarring and disappointing in some ways. This book at least salvaged things in a manner for us not to lose faith in Tony Stark, as it were. Another analogy would be to say that at least they didn't go full 90's Spider-Man Clone Saga as far as reimaginging a character goes.
I didn't realize this is where the big twist was established and a key character was introduced. Future Iron Man stories had to follow after this book and I guess it says a lot about how impressive a fear that ultimately is.
I didn't realize this is where the big twist was established and a key character was introduced. Future Iron Man stories had to follow after this book and I guess it says a lot about how impressive a fear that ultimately is.
May 23, 2019
Is this a joke?? It has to be a joke. This is so bad I don’t even know where to start. The writing is awful. The entire idea that Tony Stark was adopted because of a murderous alien robot is the most insane thing I have read in a comic. And it also atrociously rewrites years of canon history in marvel comics. This book had like ten pages of Tony and a million pages of this fucking robot and a heist/con situation with Howard and his gang of misfits. I hated this. I’m so surprised by this because I love the Young Avengers series by the same writer.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2020
Kieron Gillen's Iron Man isn't what I was hoping for. His Tony Stark is is exactly what I was hoping for. While Tony is the snarky genius that he's supposed to be. Sadly, the plot with Iron Man is the issue. Editorially, this arc was split up in two books. That's a terrible decision. The Recorder/Godkiller story was a significant miss. The "revelation" was okay, I guess, but plagued with basic, common sense holes. Maybe (hopefully) they get fleshed out in subsequent volumes. The art was good (Less Greg Land the better) but the storyline killed it. Overall, a pretty large misstep.
July 16, 2017
Wow, I was really shocked by the ending. In a good way, I guess. When a comic-book has the ability to do this, well, it is obviously a good one.
I liked the idea of the sequence and this is what made me read it in the first place. It has some weird parts. Maybe even some not exactly logical ones. But in the end of the day we had Tony dominated for a while, of course finding his way out and finally some good ending. So, basically I enjoyed it although there are of course some bad parts.
I liked the idea of the sequence and this is what made me read it in the first place. It has some weird parts. Maybe even some not exactly logical ones. But in the end of the day we had Tony dominated for a while, of course finding his way out and finally some good ending. So, basically I enjoyed it although there are of course some bad parts.
September 1, 2019
Great conclusion to the story arc. After Believe my expectations were very low, but I have to say I enjoyed the Secret Origin of Tony Stark Book 1 and 2 very much. I had been spoiled a bit for Tony's family secret, but was suprised after all in the end. I also liked it a lot, because for some unexpected reason it fits really well in histories past. Looking forward to see what writers will do with it.
November 25, 2019
Big fun, enlarging the Iron Man story, but sort of spliced together, with a team of talented artists. I like them all, I even like this retcon. But I especially like the giant space robot mercenary Deaths Head in this story, having completely ignored his (Marvel UK?) comics in previous decades.
Mildly recommended.
Mildly recommended.
May 21, 2017
More weird space shit + Iron Man. This is the one where the redemption of the "secret origin" twist is revealed, and includes an afterword from the author explaining why he did that the way he did.
Also, Howard Stark was a total badass.
Overall, definitely recommended.
Also, Howard Stark was a total badass.
Overall, definitely recommended.
June 24, 2019
I haven't much more to say than I loved this book for all of its twists and turns, a truly gasp-worth surprise, more revelations, and a usefully open ending. Oh, yes, and there's more Death's Head, which is always welcome.
August 11, 2020
It's actually interesting enough to read but the execution is very poor at some parts.
Overall this one is good, especially it talks about Tony Stark's secret origin and his relationship with his father
Overall this one is good, especially it talks about Tony Stark's secret origin and his relationship with his father
September 15, 2024
Ended Ok, otherwise tedious.
Getting through this volume and the previous 2 was honestly a chore. Too much filler between plot points and it was all just very perfunctory. The ending, once we got there, at least brought something fun to the table.
Getting through this volume and the previous 2 was honestly a chore. Too much filler between plot points and it was all just very perfunctory. The ending, once we got there, at least brought something fun to the table.
September 12, 2017
Boy, this crashed and burnt.
December 13, 2017
I didn't like the first two volumes and skimmed a lot of the first, less of the second. This one I fully read and enjoyed.
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